I'm in the same boat as you. I wanted my house in that middle island but couldn't, so I just plopped it near the airport. I think you can move it later, so I'm not too worried about where it is right now.
When I saw that there was a mini-island in the middle of one of the maps, I instantly knew I wanted to have my house there and rule over my island as a dictator.
So no time at all.
This month in general is going to be absolute hell. First, Mystery Dungeon DX (which finally came out today, woo!), then AC, then Persona 5 Royal at the end of the month. I'm so excited and the wait is almost over, but there's still a few weeks to go.
Probably not. I do enjoy TTing, but a big part of the fun of AC is discovering and unlocking new things along the way. It's going to be a fresh experience and I'm excited for it.
I don't know. I already despise the fact that you can't go online without PS+ on PS4, but for the games I have there, it's not a big deal. Being online for Animal Crossing is a big part of the experience. So I'll just have to see, but it's likely I'll wind up caving. My first year in NL was...